Body Search and Recovery

Body Search and Recovery

Dr. Snow is an expert in body search and recovery. In his six years as the Forensic Anthropologist for the State of Georgia at Large, he conducted more that 60 human remains recoveries.

These recoveries included surface scatters, clandestine graves, and the excavation of nine wells. He spent eight months in Bosnia recovering human remains from mass graves for the International Commission on Missing Persons and in Kosovo as an agent of the United Nations.

Although it is often believed that the work of the forensic anthropologist begins only after the remains are located, recovered, and brought to the lab for analysis, the work of the forensic anthropologist should begin at the scene.

Recovering human remains is something that few crime scene investigators do with regularity, and mistakes made during recovery can compromise an investigation before the remains ever leave the scene. Consequently, recovery is better left to the trained forensic anthropologist. Dr. Snow is trained to observe the minute details during recovery that are often missed by crime scene investigators.

Dr. Snow has testified as an expert witness in forensic anthropology in both Superior and Federal Court. His expert testimony has been critical to the outcome of several high profile criminal cases. He has testified in cases utilizing his expertise in search and recovery, biological profiles, trauma, time since death, manner of death, and identification.

Dr. Snow is an expert in the analysis of the biological profile of decomposed, mummified, burned, skeletonized, incomplete, commingled, and fragmentary remains. He can quickly determine whether bones are human and whether they are forensically significant, which can save law enforcement many hours at the scene.

Many forensic identification experts estimate the number of unidentified dead in the United States to be between 40,000 and 60,000. Since 2011 Dr. Snow has been working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to identify missing children. He has collected biometric data on over 100 individuals and conducted over 30 exhumations.